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07/04/2003
Desert Rats 'in Basrah to stay'
British troops have pushed into the heart of Iraq's second city and, according to the Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, "they are now in Basrah to stay".
The operation to infiltrate Basrah – a city of 1.5 million people – began on Saturday when the Desert Rats, supported by Irish Guardsmen, moved against Iraqi positions. During the fighting that followed, two soldiers from the Irish Guards and a member of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers were killed. The total number of British losses now stands at 31.
However, in a press briefing earlier today, Mr Hoon warned that while the advances in Basrah and Baghdad have been encouraging, the "regime’s resistance is not necessarily at an end".
He added: "In Baghdad itself, as in other urban areas, coalition forces may well face a difficult and dangerous period of flushing out the remnants of Iraqi forces, and particularly the various groups of irregulars, thugs and fanatics who hang on to the coat-tails of the regime. And a number of Iraqi formations outside Baghdad may yet need to be defeated if they do not capitulate first."
The Defence Secretary said that British troops had been "absolutely tremendous" in exploiting what he described as "crumbling" resistance in Basrah.
He added: "I am enormously proud of them, they have done a fantastic job in very difficult circumstances."
Mr Hoon said that in winning hearts and minds of people in Basrah, the experience of British forces in Northern Ireland "equips them superbly for the kind of tasks that they are now carrying out in the southern part of Iraq".
It was also confirmed by the MoD today that Saddam Hussein's cousin, Ali Hassan al Majid was killed in an air raid on Friday night. Dubbed Chemical Ali, he was responsible for killing around 100,000 Kurds with chemical weapons in 1988. Hassan had been in charge of Iraqi forces in the south of the country.
Elsewhere, Mr Hoon said there was "increasing security" in Al-Nasiriyah, however, in al-Hillah, Karbala, "the picture is not as good, and certainly not as good yet as we might like, and there does appear to be continuing fighting there and continuing resistance".
And later today, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Sir Percival is expected to deliver a further cargo of humanitarian aid to Umm Qasr. UK troops have also delivered around 170,000 sets of rations to people in south eastern Iraq.
(GMcG)
The operation to infiltrate Basrah – a city of 1.5 million people – began on Saturday when the Desert Rats, supported by Irish Guardsmen, moved against Iraqi positions. During the fighting that followed, two soldiers from the Irish Guards and a member of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers were killed. The total number of British losses now stands at 31.
However, in a press briefing earlier today, Mr Hoon warned that while the advances in Basrah and Baghdad have been encouraging, the "regime’s resistance is not necessarily at an end".
He added: "In Baghdad itself, as in other urban areas, coalition forces may well face a difficult and dangerous period of flushing out the remnants of Iraqi forces, and particularly the various groups of irregulars, thugs and fanatics who hang on to the coat-tails of the regime. And a number of Iraqi formations outside Baghdad may yet need to be defeated if they do not capitulate first."
The Defence Secretary said that British troops had been "absolutely tremendous" in exploiting what he described as "crumbling" resistance in Basrah.
He added: "I am enormously proud of them, they have done a fantastic job in very difficult circumstances."
Mr Hoon said that in winning hearts and minds of people in Basrah, the experience of British forces in Northern Ireland "equips them superbly for the kind of tasks that they are now carrying out in the southern part of Iraq".
It was also confirmed by the MoD today that Saddam Hussein's cousin, Ali Hassan al Majid was killed in an air raid on Friday night. Dubbed Chemical Ali, he was responsible for killing around 100,000 Kurds with chemical weapons in 1988. Hassan had been in charge of Iraqi forces in the south of the country.
Elsewhere, Mr Hoon said there was "increasing security" in Al-Nasiriyah, however, in al-Hillah, Karbala, "the picture is not as good, and certainly not as good yet as we might like, and there does appear to be continuing fighting there and continuing resistance".
And later today, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Sir Percival is expected to deliver a further cargo of humanitarian aid to Umm Qasr. UK troops have also delivered around 170,000 sets of rations to people in south eastern Iraq.
(GMcG)
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Defence Secretary John Reid is visiting British forces in southeast Iraq ahead of the country’s elections in two weeks time. Mr Reid landed in Basra this morning and visited the headquarters of the 10th division of the Iraqi Army, as well as soldiers from the 1 Highlanders Battle Group, based in Basra City and troops at the Shaibah Logistics Base.
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